Staff at the School of Sport an Exercise Sciences have been awarded £10,000 by the Higher Education Academy to explore the experiences of home and international students participating in an outdoor groupwork skills course.

Childhood obesity is a serious public health problem predicted to affect two thirds of UK children by 2050. Physical inactivity is a leading contributor to the obesity epidemic, which researchers from the University of Birmingham are seeking to combat through effective coach education.

I chose to study at Birmingham because for me it offered a great balance between being at the heart of a dynamic city, having a really large campus, a really large university with lots of activities, the politics department which I'm involved in is in the top ten of the country and of course, Birmingham is in the top three of the British University sports rankings, which is a big seller for me.

POLSIS's Dr Jonathan Grix appeared on BBC Radio 4's Thinking Allowed this week to discuss his new book Sport under Communism: Behind the East German 'Miracle', co-authored by Mike Dennis from the University of Wolverhampton.